Sean Gares steps down as head coach of 100 Thieves Valorant to pursue content creation

Sean Gares, a veteran Valorant caster and professional CS:GO player, will step down as the head coach of 100 Thieves and hand over the reins to Michael Hockom (MikesHD).

100 Thieves released a video today in which they revealed potential forthcoming coaching changes to their Valorant squad. Gares will be focusing on a career as a content creator, according to general manager Daniel "ddk" Kapadia. Gares spent almost a year as an analyst and pundit for Valorant before taking over as head coach of 100 Thieves in March 2022.

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MikesHD takes over as the new head coach of 100 Thieves' Valorant roster

After Gares took over as head coach, 100 Thieves saw immediate improvement and qualified as the third team from North America for Valorant Champions Istanbul.

The former Counter-Strike player restored order to a club that had been in disarray following the departure of high-profile players at the end of 2021. Gares talked about how difficult it was to be the head coach and how he wanted to return to making content instead.

With Gares' departure, assistant coach Michael Hockom will now take over as head coach of 100 Thieves. Mikes joined the organization in March (with ddk and Gares), and he previously coached the Valorant teams of G2 Esports and Team Envy. Mikes played an important role in 100 Thieves' championship run and is optimistic about the team's potential to thrive in the Americas league this season.

He also stated that the squad would work hard throughout the summer to get things in order so that they would have the best opportunity to win the Americas league and return to Champions next year.

“The transition is obviously bittersweet, right? I definitely miss streaming and creating content for my fans throughout this time, and that was one of the hardest things that as well as like, I really missed casting and being involved in the scene and all the things I used to do. Unfortunately, you don’t have a lot of time for that when you’re on an esports team as a coach. I didn’t think I’d miss it as much as I did, I thought my competitive side would take over, and it did, which is why I didn’t do any of those old things. But I truly do miss it a lot.”

Gares, on the other hand, made it obvious that he was missing creating content and casting. Before he left content creation to pursue coaching, he and ddk were regarded as the finest duo in Valorant casting. He did not officially commit to returning to casting in the 100 Thieves video, but he did mention it in passing as a possibility.

MikesHD has been a prominent member of 100 Thieves since March. He is an experienced coach, and his previous stints with Team Envy and G2 have likely honed his coaching abilities. ddk will remain as the general manager, and the team will be looking to have a solid conclusion to their 2022 season.